Bloodstained Chrysanthemums沾染着血的菊花
by nuttyjigs
Summary: Yao had been missing for three years, and Kiku was doing just fine without him...until he discovered a letter from his adoptive brother leading to a mysterious uncharted island... AU Brotherly!China x Japan
1. Chapter 1: Letter

**A/N: **Second FFN fic! :3 Unlike Floodwaters, this is full-length, though I don't think it will be as popular because it's a crossover. It's still mostly AU Hetalia, though, since the FMA cast isn't making an appearance until Chapter 13 or so.

WARNINGS FOR WHOLE SERIES: T is for blood and swearing; AU Brotherly!Nichu, non-canon pairings that are very bizarre in later chapters. That is all.

Also, thanks to my wonderful betas FireFly07 and Dontmezwitme! :D This is going to be so awesome~

I don't quite own Hetalia, now do I...?

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><p>Bloodstained Chrysanthemums_沾染着血的菊花_

Chapter one: Letter/_第一章：信_

_Dear Di-di,_

_If you're reading this letter right now, it means I've gone missing. Mama and Papa are probably going mad, sending out search teams and stuff to look for me. Well, you can cancel them all. I'm fine where I'm going; you can tell them to stop worrying. Besides, you'll never find me. My whereabouts and motives, though, I cannot say, and I don't know when I'll be back…_

_By the way, Di-di, I'm sorry about that incident. I know you didn't mean it; I shouldn't have been so harsh._

_Good luck!_

_Love, Ge-ge_

Kiku folded the letter and returned it to its red envelope with a sigh. Yao had made it sound so…easy. Like he'd just gone on a little joyride somewhere and would be back in an hour. Unfortunately, that hour had become three years.

To Kiku, it didn't really matter. He preferred it when his adoptive older brother had disappeared without a trace. He never liked Yao, to be honest. The Chinese was always trying to be nice, but he always ended up bossing him around instead. Why the rich family took him in, Kiku would rather not think about. Sometimes it felt like he would have been better off when he was a young boy stealing from others to survive.

But the past was the past. Kiku pushed such unpleasant memories away and stared again at the envelope in his hands. It smelled faintly of dried calligraphy ink. He had found the old letter in Yao's journal. Ah, what a surprise it was, to uncover the only link to his missing "_brother_" after nearly three years!

Or perhaps it wasn't. Yao's parents had left their son's bedroom untouched after his disappearance; they were highly sentimental and superstitious people. They had managed to keep Kiku from Yao's room so far, but now that Yao's mother had been sent to the hospital, Kiku was able to sneak past his father and snoop around Yao's room.

He just couldn't fathom _why_.

Honestly, Kiku had no idea of what he expected to find. Drugs, a skeleton in his older brother's closet, maybe even bodies of strangled victims…Well, that was over the top, but when the Japanese laid eyes on that door and scanned the area twice, finding no hint of his father, he just had to check it out.

And to his own surprise, he found something.

He smoothed the red paper of the envelope reluctantly. Would he show this to his adoptive parents? Perhaps not. There were no hints of Yao's whereabouts; it was just a useless goodbye letter from an older brother he never liked.

Kiku turned the envelope over, about to return it to the old notebook on the mahogany desk, but a few neat characters in the Japanese kana at the very corner caught his eye: "Devil's Island."

There was just one problem. Yao couldn't write in Kiku's native language.

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><p>And so, just five days later, Honda Kiku found himself on a boat to nowhere.<p>

"Where to, sir?" queried the nervous captain for the nth time. It was a perfectly fine day, and a refreshing breeze cut the air as their tiny boat sped through the glittering blue waves of the ocean. Shame that Kiku had to spend it on this futile adventure.

"Please, just keep going…"

Honestly, Kiku himself had no idea. All he had done was show the letter to his father, and suddenly, boom! He had made the most regrettable decision of his life. The businessman had looked up the mysterious "Devil's Island" on the Internet, consulted a few sources, hired a captain, and before Kiku knew it, he was watching the ubiquitous sea as his black hair was whipped into his face by the salty wind.

Apparently, the 'Devil's Island' was some old and corny sailor's tale of an island that was said to exist in the middle of nowhere. If a sailor ever found it and docked on it, he would never return. After a short consultation with his wife, Yao's father had demanded a boat, which Kiku was to personally ride in order to find Yao. The Japanese pointed out that if "sailors that dock on it never return," then no one would come back to spread the word. He was completely ignored.

"Where to, sir?"

And, quite pitifully so, the captain that Yao's father had hired believed in the old spinster's tale himself.

Kiku sighed, turning to the skinny man at the wheel. "You don't have to do this if you don't want to."

"N-No, sir! I can do this…" insisted the captain stubbornly. "I…It's just that…I've never simply wandered around at sea like this, so…"

It was either Yao's father had paid him a huge amount to do this, or the captain was afraid of whatever such a rich family could do to him. Kiku missed his old parents, who were respected because of their kindness, not their wealth.

"You know," said Kiku, hoping to alleviate the poor captain's worry, "the sun is beginning to set. We can head back now, if you'd like to."

"But sir…I'm beginning to see land…!"

Land? Kiku's eyes widened. He got up, stepping closer to the captain's control station. The GPS was empty. There was no island, yet very clearly, Kiku could see a small lump of rock forming on the reddening horizon. An uncharted island.

The captain, not receiving any response from a gaping Kiku, inquired, "Shall we dock, sir?"

The Japanese blinked, recovering from his state of shock. "Y…Yes. Yes, we shall." Not waiting for a reply, he turned back for the deck of the small motorboat. Truth to be told, actually finding an uncharted island was the last thing he expected. What sort of coincidence was it to find one in a search for something similar, except fictional? Kiku didn't believe in such legends, but thinking about the island made his stomach lurch. It was something no one else had ever stepped on. Of course, he didn't expect to find Yao there, but what _would_ he find?

The sun descended lower, drifting into the ocean as the humble little boat cruised into the sunset.

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><p>The island was dark by the time they docked.<p>

The forest was accented by shadows of the night, the sand of the beach gracefully illuminated by the white moonlight. Kiku strolled anxiously between them, a flashlight aimed at the ground in front of him. The captain utterly refused to leave his boat, so Kiku departed alone, pitying the trembling young man. And so now, he was here, exploring a never-before-seen island, with the moon peeking at him and the sand shifting under his shoes. Never in his life did Kiku imagine himself in such a situation.

Did Yao's father really expect him to find anything? Was he that desperate? Sometimes riches can blind one to obvious truths. Yao's father certainly had the money to do so; he hesitated not in sending Kiku on the impromptu search. The question was, why Kiku? Why not send a professional search team despite Yao's note? It certainly _did_ seem strange. Perhaps it had slipped the busy man's mind?

In either case, the island certainly was dull. Besides, the sand ended at the crag directly ahead, and it was getting late. Perhaps it was time to head back…

Kiku froze in place when he noticed a human silhouette some distance directly in front of him.

He instinctively flashed the flashlight upwards, heart pounding. Who was it on an _uncharted_ island? Was it a native, like in those survivor movies Kiku had watched wherein the protagonist would be assaulted by a primitive tribe on a deserted island? The beam from his torch flashed against the slick red of blood.

"Ah-!"

"Di-di!"

Something gripped at Kiku's flashlight hand, and he was forced to stare at the face in front of him. Smiling, a grotesque accent to the blood smothered all over the left cheek, which held the Chinese- Japanese character for "death," carved into the flesh. Dark hair falling slightly over it, tied back into a ponytail…

"Y…Yao…"

Said Chinese frowned, releasing a flustered Kiku's wrist. "How come you never call me Ge-ge or Nii-chan, aru?"

Kiku glared still at the character on his brother's cheek, appalled, though his initial terror had begun to fade slightly at the revelation that it wasn't, in fact, a savage tribesman who wanted to sacrifice his soul to some nonexistent deity of the land. Yao was the same, with the same annoying verbal tic, the same attempts at brotherhood and the same favorite t-shirt with the overly-long sleeves and the panda prints in front, but what was this mutilation on his face? More importantly, slipping ever so slightly from the Japanese's mind at the moment, his brother actually _was _on a fabled uncharted island?

Yao, noting his pallid expression, ran an index finger over the cuts consciously. "This? It's nothing, aru. I'd rather know how you got here."

His brother continued to stare, but no longer at the blood. How was it that Yao was standing on a deserted island in practically his pajamas with the word "death" sliced painfully into his face and still act like it was an ordinary day?

"…You left me a hint," replied Kiku cautiously and softly. He was still wary about this all. It didn't seem likely that he had actually found his missing adoptive brother on an uncharted island, and even less likely that it was all a dream, much to Kiku's chagrin. Only one night, and so many questions already!

"No, I didn't. I left you a _letter_, aru." Yao examined Kiku's face thoughtfully before stating flatly, "Go home. You can't stay here." His irritating vocal habit was gone, and that sort of thing only happened when he was dead serious. Which, frankly, did not happen often.

Kiku watched him for a while, searching for any hint of the usual playful attitude. When he found none, he said quietly, "There are too many questions to ask."

"And you are not entitled to the answers. Kiku, this isn't just for my convenience; it's for your safety."

Hah! As if Yao cared about Kiku's safety, scoffed the Japanese mentally. He did not believe in the slightest that Yao cared an inch for him; no advantages to their brotherhood ever occurred to him. But he would play along. Then he would not be blamed when he arrived home without Yao behind him; he would say that he found nothing, and if they ever found that he had, they would know that he lied because Yao told him to. Then it would not seem so personal, so…biased. "Very well, then. I will leave you alone, and I will not tell anyone what transpired tonight."

Yao stared at him long and hard. He didn't believe such an easy victory, Kiku could tell, but he knew that his brother would not argue, either. It was the winning that mattered. The Chinese smiled, feigning satisfaction, and chirped jovially, "I'm glad you understand, aru. Anyway, I have some things to attend to…I hope I don't see you again tonight."

He turned for the dead end, ponytail swishing behind him, and Kiku watched the drops of blood fall onto the sandy shore. It was no ordinary night, that's for sure. But he could pretend it was. Kiku was good at that—hiding emotions behind a curtain of dark indifference. That was something that was very much needed on the streets, for the many years he struggled after his parents' deaths…It would come in handy now.

After watching the distant figure continue to stroll down the sand casually for a few minutes, Kiku turned and went on his own way.


	2. Chapter 2: Questions

**A/N:** Yo! I would have posted this earlier, but right when I finally finished it, my other beta disappeared! D: I waited, but...Nothing happened. D: And so, wanting to go on, I decided to post in anyway..._U I hope Dontmezwitme comes back soon! D: She's my first official beta...

Anyway, the usual, I don't own Hetalia. This chapter is 100% clean and sadly 100% FMA-free and will remain thus until later later chapters. I only put this in crossovers because I was told that's where it belongs. O3O

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><p>Bloodstained Chrysanthemums沾染着血的菊花

Chapter Two: Questions/第二章: 问题

…This _couldn't _be happening.

The flashlight dropped from a dumbfounded Kiku's hand, rolling across the white sand. He was sure this was where he had left the boat; it was by that large boulder that was constantly lapped at by the waves. But…Where was it, then? All he could see was an empty beach and the rolling sea.

"Captain…?" he called feebly, picking up the flashlight. Its light had extinguished when he had dropped it. Kiku pushed up the switch, but it did not turn on, even when he shook it. So his boat was missing and his flashlight wasn't working. Great. He checked his watch consciously; the time was ten thirty. His cellphone was on the boat, and he had no other means of contacting his father nor anyone else for that matter. He was most definitely stuck on the island until he could find his boat.

Perhaps the captain had left without him? He had seemed like a nice young man, but he was awfully panicky and superstitious, and it couldn't have been too far out of his ability to abandon his client on the island. Still…Aside from being terrified of the paranormal, the captain was also terrified of the rich; the Wang family's power could make the seaman succumb to anything, as Kiku had seen himself. The fact pushed out the fiction, and the Japanese decided that the captain would most likely not leave on his own.

Suddenly, the old myth that had led him to the island in the first place slipped back into Kiku's mind. _Those who dock on it never return… _Hah! That was merely superstitious falsehood…Right…?

Kiku slapped himself mentally. _Stay calm, Kiku…You can't let such trifling tales get to you… _Slightly comforted but not completely devoid of his anxiety, Kiku wandered the nearby sands to see if he could find any evidence whatsoever on the whereabouts of the boat and, more importantly, the captain. The night remained quiet as ever, as if to daunt him.

Something half-buried in sand caught the pale moonlight, and Kiku ceased his circuit, attention averted to the discovery. The young man crouched down and brushed the sand away. It was a piece of metal.

_The boat…!_

He turned the shard around in his hands. It was painted the same color as the boat he had just ridden on a few moments earlier, crumpled at the edges, like it was forcefully ripped out of place. This could only mean one thing:

The boat was gone. For good.

Kiku gulped, setting down the shard once more and stepping back. _Something _took his boat, and perhaps even the captain with it.

Beginning to grow nervous, he turned back for the route he had just taken. Maybe Yao knew something about it, as unlikely as it seemed, and besides, he would need a place to stay for the night. Kiku certainly did not like the notion of turning to his older brother for help, but he hadn't much of a rational choice otherwise. Besides, he had to admit he was slightly curious as to _how_ Yao ended up on the island. He had only disappeared shortly after his recovery from the…incident, and the search teams were sent out immediately. Records of trips out the area were looked over carefully, with no result. If Yao had not ridden a boat there or flown a plane, how _did_ he get there?

The Japanese quickened his pace. This ignorance was making him uneasy, and the uncanny silence was worsening it. Where were all the creatures of the night who were supposed to be calling out to each other or something? A silence like this was uncommon even for someplace deserted such as the island he was on at the moment, and—

"Boo!"

Kiku yelped at the voice behind him, stumbling onto the sand, although he didn't need to look to know who it was. "Yao…"

"Aww, you knew aru?" came the familiar annoying laugh. Kiku turned over on the sand, scowling. The same person he expected stood above him, grinning, though the same wound burdened his face and made everything he said seem awkwardly average. "That's okay, though. Your reaction was still hilarious, aru!"

With a resigned sigh at his _older_ brother's childish behavior, Kiku picked himself up from the ground. Couldn't he take _anything_ seriously…? "This is no time for your immature jokes, Yao…My boat just vanished."

"Huh…?" Yao's amused smirk immediately fell from his face. Instead his expression displayed surprise, which faded quickly into vague understanding. The Chinese muttered something to himself in his own language before calling, "Um, Di-di? We better get going, aru. If that's the case, I have someplace we can stay for the night, but you'll have to come with me, aru."

Without waiting for a reply, Yao turned for the forest. Kiku blinked; he didn't think Yao would allow it so easily, even without him asking! It may have been a triumph of some sort, but it was also an omen. After all, what would make Yao so nervous as to be the first to offer a night at wherever he was staying without playing around first? Had some danger befallen the captain and threatened to affect Kiku as well? Yao may have been annoying, but he was not stupid. If there was danger, there was danger, and Kiku had to follow his advice. "W-Wait…!" He trotted as quickly as he could after the Chinese, who was already entering the woods.

"Walk faster aru!" taunted Yao with a laugh. Kiku could no longer see him in the thick foliage; his voice seemed far away.

"Yao…Since when did _you_ walk quickly…?" Kiku couldn't recall a single instance wherein Yao could walk faster than him. It's always either the Chinese was walking in a leisurely stride to "admire the scenery" even if there was nothing to see, or, if he was running, he'd give up in a span of a few minutes. Kiku just couldn't see how Yao was climbing the steep forest incline this fast at all.

By the time he had Yao in sight, he was completely out of breath. The Chinese, though, much to Kiku's confusion, looked completely unfazed, standing with the moonlight highlighting his silky hair as he looked down at him with a contemplating look. "You're kind of slow tonight, aru."

_You're_ unusually_ quick _tonight_… _Kiku wanted to retort, but he no longer had the breath to. Instead he leaned on a tree, gasping, "Where…?"

"Oh. You want to see, aru?" Yao stepped aside, revealing the enthralling view.

The two of them had climbed up to a cliff that provided a breathtaking view of the ocean's crashing waves. The moon hung high above them like a glow-in-the-dark stamp on the black sheet of a sky. Countless stars graced the dark expanse, more than can ever be seen in the city. A breeze blew towards them, as if to welcome them to the lavish Oriental pagoda built on the cliff. Lanterns hung off the tiers of the roofs and the gate. The Chinese people usually hung lanterns during a festive event; Kiku briefly wondered what the occasion was. More importantly, though, he wondered where such a structure came from.

"It's…" Kiku was speechless once more, though no longer from exhaustion.

"You like it, aru?" Yao smiled, an attempt at warm hospitality. "Come on, let's go in, aru."

"Wait-!" Kiku called, but Yao was far in the lead once more. How did he manage to build such a lavish abode on a deserted, uncharted island without the help of any construction company outside of the island itself…? In coming with Yao, Kiku had thought he would find answers to his questions. Instead, the mysteries multiplied.

…No matter. He would ask, once they were both inside. He had to know; he needed answers.

…Just what had he gotten himself into…?

The brothers sat across each other awkwardly, the table between them holding nothing but a teapot and two cups of tea, the steam rising in graceful swirls. The windows were open, and the moon watched over their awkward silence, the only source of light aside from the dim glow of the red paper lanterns around them. The room was apparently Yao's reception room, although why he needed one on an island with no residents, Kiku had no idea, as usual. Painted scrolls adorned the walls.

Calmly ignoring Kiku's evident discomfort, Yao took his tea, taking a rather loud sip. It was as if he was enjoying the silence, awaiting Kiku to speak first.

The Japanese, on the other hand, was not interested at all in speaking first, as curious as he was. Anyway, he knew that Yao would eventually grow tired of their game of silence and act first; perhaps he would even reveal something he would not have if Kiku had spoken first. At least that's what he told himself; in reality, he could not decide which of the questions in his unfortunate collection to ask first. He fingered the beautiful patterns on his porcelain cup tensely.

Finally, his tea exhausted (much unlike his younger brother's) and fed up with the silence, Yao whispered, "You want to ask me something." It was a statement, not a question.

"I want to ask you everything," said Kiku, nonchalantly masking his anxiety, "but I will only ask you the most basic: What happened?" He had been waiting for this moment, and he could not afford to narrow down to one topic just yet. Too personal a question could render Yao reluctant to answer, and something this generic could solicit the most answers.

"That's very vague," Yao noted with a frown. "Though I understand your confusion."

"Do you? Then if you truly do, Yao, you can answer it, can you not?"

His brother smiled; Kiku had scored the goal. "Fine, then…You win this time, Di-di. But I'm warning you, I'm not supposed to be talking about this, and I'm not going to reveal a lot, understand?"

Kiku nodded, heart pounding.

"Good. Then, let's begin our little storytelling session tonight."


	3. Chapter 3: Past

**A/N: **Sorry for the slow update; beta stuffs. O3O I'm not really sure I was supposed to post this, in fact, since Dontmezwitme didn't reply to my last message...*shrug*. The main editing was over, so I think I can post this...^ ^U And NaNoWriMo. Which means no new chapters for the month.

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><p>Bloodstained Chrysanthemums沾染着血的菊花

Chapter 3: Past/第三章: 过去

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

Yao gazed at the flowers at his bedside with a melancholic expression upon his pretty face. Chrysanthemums, immaculate white and fresh as the dawn, placed where they were to accompany him in his recovery. Ironic how what put _him _there in the first place shared the name of his only companion in the room. Kiku…_Chrysanthemum._

Outside, faint, muffled voices droned on, incomprehensible. It didn't matter; Yao already knew the content of the conversation. He would be out soon. His wounds from the accident were nearly all healed, though the scars left behind were inevitable. Even if he had escaped the whole ordeal without them, Yao could never forget. His mental painting of his precious little brother would be innocent no more.

"An accident," the press had called it, but everyone knew it was not! It may have begun as one, but it could have been prevented, could have been stopped. Except the only person who had the power to do so did not.

It had been such a happy day, too! A vacation in the countryside, where the air was fresh and stress was minimal. Yao loved nature; the rush of the city was really never his cup of tea. The scenery's serene comfort, the sense of peace it gave…

That is, short-lived peace.

Ah, how frail the human body! All it took was one small stumble, and down, down, down went he, bones broken on boulders and skin torn on sharpened rock. Nature is beautiful, but deceitful is she; dangers plague her every detail! Cliff sides offer beautiful scenery—but beautiful scenery is not the only thing that corroded stone offers.

And as he held on for dear life, he stared into his brother's eyes, a silent plea for help.

There was nothing.

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><p>The moon above him was mellow and subtle, a perfect accompaniment to Yao's nostalgia. Well, that's what he told himself it was, but nostalgia required good memories, and the deeper he thought, the more he realized that Kiku never liked him. Not once did he consider him his brother, nor did he even see him as a friend. In fact, it was entirely possible that he had hated him. After all, it would have to take <em>something<em> to keep him from helping someone in such dire need. Something to make him just stand there coldly and watch his brother fall.

Yao sighed, pushing back the hair that was getting into his face. He couldn't just make assumptions, whether good or bad, he decided. They did nothing but rile up his already pained heart. His entire body still ached from head to toe; the bruises were better, but not completely healed, and someone as excitable as him was prone to breaking healing scabs open again.

…Ah, it no longer mattered. It was about time he headed back. The short walk out was to clear his head from everything that's been plaguing it so far, and he hadn't left a note—it was, after all, the middle of the night. The Chinese turned around, only to find a young girl standing a few paces in front of him.

Weird, he hadn't heard any footsteps.

"Hey," called the girl in her singsong voice, "might you be Wang Yao?"

"Um…Who are you, aru?" He didn't know this girl, that was for sure.

"Silly me," she told herself a bit loudly. "Of course he's Wang Yao. My instincts never lie."

As she said those words, a cloud of red began to form above her. Slowly, almost unnoticeably, the mist expanded, growing bigger and bigger until it seemed to take up the whole sky. Yao stared up at it, wide-eyed. What was going on…?

"You seem surprised," smirked the enigmatic girl amusedly. "Get used to it."

The cloud begin to take shape into an ambiguous creature, golden eyes thin as slits but sharp as swords. The monster eyed him, entertained, and Yao flinched, stepping back. This was…

A dragon.

Majestic, the legendary creature circled the air directly above Yao's head, red scales sparkling in the soft moonlight, accented by slight shimmers of blue and gold. Its playful expression never left its face as it continued to observe the boy from above.

This _had_ to be a dream.

Yao tried to run, but his feet felt rooted into place by fear. Besides, what chance did he have running from a _dragon_? And also, he would wake up soon…Right? It didn't matter if his brother hated him and he was severely injured from head to toe. At least then he wouldn't be surrounded by a damn _dragon_.

The girl, sensing her opportunity, slowly neared until she was directly in front of him. Yao stared into her amber eyes, serene yet headstrong at the same time. "Don't worry," she whispered. "This isn't going to hurt."

The wind roared all of a sudden, and the draft swirled around the curious trio of the girl, the boy, and the dragon, in a swirling current that was too strong to break from. The young woman smiled, a sweet and sympathetic gesture, and the world was swept away from right under his feet.

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><p>It <em>was<em> a dream, right? If it wasn't…He wouldn't be waking up…right…?

Yao touched the thick blanket draped over him with a groan. The bed under him felt welcomingly soft, and it simply felt great that there wasn't an intimidating dragon flying in circles above him. He was at home, safe, and making perfect sense…

Until he realized he was no longer wearing his usual outfit.

"Aiyah!" Yao yelped, sitting up with a jolt. He frantically fingered the ornate embroidery of flowers and hummingbirds gracing the changsan he now wore. Something so carefully embroidered was surely worth a fortune! How did he come to be wearing something like this…

…In someplace like this…?

He dropped the sleeve immediately once he realized it. The room was ten times larger than his own, which was not a common phenomenon, owing to the millions that his family possessed. This was…This was traditional, oriental, in the style of the overly lavish Chinese emperors of the ancient days. A sweet scent wafted in the air, blowing from a set of candles at the far end of the room. The bed he sat on himself was king-sized, with a canopy engraved with coiled dragons and translucent curtains, tied up at the moment.

Maybe he wasn't dreaming after all.

"Oh, you're awake!"

Yao flinched at the all-too-familiar voice. The girl with the dragon stood a few paces beside him, holding a glittering blade in her hand. The magnificent beast that had accompanied her earlier was nowhere to be seen, but the knife was unnerving enough as it was. Yao tensed, watching the dagger with nervous eyes. "W-W—"

"I know, I know, where are you, who am I, all that jazz. Well, quite obviously, you're in an Oriental palace. My name is Zhang Chun-Yan." The girl lowered the blade with a thoughtful glance at his expression. "And I keep forgetting the initial reaction to the ceremonial blade. Right, right. I'm not a mass murderer, no."

"…R…Right…" Yao was basically speechless. Never before had he met someone quite as…eccentric.

"Glad you understand. Now, let's postpone all the explaining for later, shall we? Down to business!" She raised the knife treacherously. "I promise, Yao, this won't hurt a bit…Okay, maybe just a little."

Chun-Yan stepped closer, serious-faced, and Yao backed up anxiously, eyes wide. What was she planning on doing? "Wh-Wh-"

She pounced on him faster than he could react, shielding his eyes with one hand and pushing her weight on him. He felt the cold of the blade on his face, and he stilled, knowing that struggling would do him worse.

"What do you want…?" Yao barely recognized his own voice: small, shaking, and devoid of his usual verbal habit.

"Shit," swore Chun-Yan, ignoring his query. "What an inconvenient place to put energy flow this strong…"

The slightest pressure on his cheek made Yao flinch, grabbing at his captor's hand with his own. He could tell she was close; her auburn hair kissed his face, and he could smell the faint scent of peonies on her cheongsam. "Lie still," she whispered, her usual sarcastic tone gone from her cherry-sweet voice. "Or it might just hurt."

Yao held his breath anxiously, loosening his grip as the Chinese girl sliced into his cheek. What was she doing? More importantly, why was he letting her do it? This was mad, and he knew it, but for some reason his body refused to move and he just lay there, subject to her powerful whims.

A warm trickle of blood dripped down his face, and suddenly, it hit him—there was no pain. From the very beginning, it was gone—the aches of his bruises and the stings of his cuts, and even now, as a knife sliced into his skin, pain was absent. It didn't hurt, just like she promised.

What sort of magic _was_ this…?

"There," breathed Chun-Yan finally, hands leaving his face. The blade she held so thoughtfully in her hand glistened with blood, but her expression showed no sign of regret or terror at all. "You're finished. That's nice; you didn't put up a fight at all. Not many are like that, I tell you."

Yao sat up slowly and cautiously, wincing as he touched his bloody cheek, though out of habit—it didn't hurt at all. Chun-Yan motioned to the mirror at his bedside, and he saw a single word:

Death.

"Please," he croaked, cupping his wounded cheek tenderly. Nothing was adding up. Nothing made sense. _Answers_. Much like his brother, three years later, he needed _answers_. "What's happening…?"

"Yao," Chun-Yan smiled with a hint of pity, "Welcome to my world.

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><p><strong>AN: **Not sure how two-character Chinese names should be typed in English. I personally don't like that ugly dash, but not all Chinese names look pretty stuck together and without it. :l What do you think? Chun-Yan, ChunYan, Chun Yan, Chunyan...Oh, and in case you haven't noticed, that was Fem!China right there. I'm not entirely sure what her personality is supposed to be, so...*shrug* There are also a whole damn lot of "yan"s that mean nice things in Chinese, and I don't know which one Fem!China's is supposed to be, so I picked the one that means swallow. So her name, according to my dad, now means "the swallow that flies in the spring." Wait, was it a swallow or a sparrow? I think it was a swallow...*shrugs again* Well...That's all I really have to rant about. O3O


	4. Chapter 4: Ceremony

**A/N: **Herro! I'm still alive and kicking; don't worry. :) NaNoWriMo ate my writing career, and when I finally got it to spit it out, it was so scrunched up I decided to let it dry off first. So then I waited until the middle of December and that's when I started Chrys 4. X3 Enjoy~

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><p>Bloodstained Chrysanthemums沾染着血的菊花

Chapter 4: Ceremony /_第四章：典礼_

For a short while, there was silence between the brothers. The tea was cold and neither one had taken a sip for quite some time. The lanterns glowed warmly, in contrast with the moon's frigid luminescence, as if patiently waiting for either to speak after Yao's unbelievable tale. A drop of scarlet blood slipped from one of the cuts on his cheek and dripped onto the table quietly. Finally, Kiku spoke.

"You have just added more questions than you have answered."

His older brother sighed, dabbing the blood off his cheek with a long sleeve and breaking away from his brother's stony gaze. Of course he wouldn't believe it! Who believes such a tale so easily? "You asked, aru," he pointed out with a slight hint of annoyance.

"Why would Chun-Yan do something like _that_? What purpose would it serve? How did she haul you off here in the first place?" Kiku pressed without much conviction. It was _answers_ he needed, but Yao's expression told him that he would reveal no more. Besides, he did not entirely believe Yao's explanation. It was just so…surreal.

"I think I've told you too much already, aru," scowled Yao, fiddling with his long, dark hair consciously. "I'm not even supp—"

He halted in his speech abruptly, head suddenly jerking up; eyes wide, as if an epiphany had just struck him like a brick. Kiku cocked his head curiously. Perhaps he would spill more?

"Do you hear that?" whispered Yao, closing his eyes contemplatively.

Kiku paused and listened, but he heard nothing at all. "Not quite…"

"Listen, aru," insisted the Chinese, holding a finger up for silence.

Again Kiku strained his ears to hear, and again he heard nothing. "Yao," he prodded anxiously, watching worriedly as his brother began to smile ever so faintly. "Are you alright?"

"What are you talking about aru? Of course I'm alright." The light smile was quickly replaced by an annoyed frown. "Can't you hear it aru?"

Kiku decided to be blunt, because pretending to hear nonexistent music did not seem like a very good strategy at the moment. After all, Yao had just relayed to him a fable of something incredibly unlikely, if not downright impossible. "No, Yao. I'm sorry; I hear nothing."

"Nonsense aru!" Yao persisted, slamming his hands onto the table and pushing himself off the ground, head turned to the window. His brows were furrowed together, his expression pensive. "It's very clear…Now, why would there be music aru…" Another revelation struck him, and he snapped his fingers in understanding. "Of course! The ceremony. This is something I have to see aru!"

And with that, he appeared to completely forget about his visitor as he scrambled out the door in a huge rush to see this amazing "ceremony" from which inaudible music played.

Kiku, of course, allowed his curiosity to get the better of him. He struggled to his feet at once, dashing after his unusually quick brother, who had already gone out the double doors of his Oriental mansion, left hanging off their hinges in his rush. "Wait…" coughed Kiku after Yao, watching as the very tip of his ponytail disappeared into the shadows in between the trees. Why was he so _fast_? "Yao, I'm coming…"

Yao left his view uncannily easily, considering how infuriatingly slow his pace was years ago, the last time they had seen each other, when Yao was waltzing up the steep slope that would become the setting of his terrible misfortune with a smile on his face and a spring to his step. What in the world was _happening_? Kiku's mind could not catch up. Yao may have been going insane, fabricating stories of dragons and listening to music that simply did not exist, but that would not account for his boosted alacrity and the slices on his face. Perhaps it was Kiku who was going insane.

Looking for Yao was not easy once he had left Kiku's sight. The Chinese had received a huge head start, and Kiku could not even hear his footfalls anymore. He was forced to squint in the nighttime gloom to spot any broken twig or disturbed pile of leaves in order to discern Yao's route from the mansion. It took Kiku over fifteen minutes to find his adoptive brother.

The trail led up a slope, to a cliff not unlike the one Yao had fallen off all those years ago. The clearing was washed out in the moonlight, like it had been painted expertly in watercolor. Yao was perched daintily on top of the boulder at the center, his dark locks blowing behind him as he raised his eyes to the starry sky in awe. All above him were scattered golden stars, more than Kiku had ever seen in one place.

It was beautiful, but the star-adorned sky must have been a usual sight in a remote island like Yao's. What made tonight so special that he had to cut short their important conversation in order to stargaze?

"Yao?" Kiku took a feeble step into the clearing. The waterfall of moonlight immediately washed down his hair and face, highlighting him as he entered.

"Kiku-di!" Yao turned for a very brief moment to show off the shining grin on his face and wave at his little brother to come over. "Come on over here, aru! Let's watch the ceremony."

Presuming he had meant the stars all along, Kiku took his brother's side on the luscious grass, and gazed upwards into the enthralling sky. The sparkling expanse hanging delicately above the two of them brought forth a slight chill of nostalgia. Yao as a child had loved the stars; at every chance he could get, he would spend the night stargazing. Oftentimes he would bring Kiku with him as well, and they would stare into the sky together, like they were doing now. Of course, the inky city sky was nothing compared to the amazing glittering lightshow they gazed into at the moment.

After a while, though, Kiku's attention shifted to his brother instead. They had been watching the stars for quite a while now, but Yao did not show the slightest sign of tiring. In fact, he would occasionally clap or whoop or even laugh as he stared up into the sky.

And the sky, as it had always been, was occupied only by the myriad stars and the solemn moon.

Kiku could stand it no longer. "Yao?" he ventured. "Shouldn't we be heading back now?"

"Back aru?" Yao sent him a questioning look, the sparkle in his eyes similar to that of a child waiting for Santa on Christmas Eve. "Why? The ceremony isn't over yet aru. That was only the traditional dance number by the Apprentice; the coronation has just begun aru."

He should have known something was wrong.

"I apologize, Yao, but I don't see anything but the stars."

Yao's childish glance turned into a stunned stare, and Kiku almost regretted being so frank. But what else could he do? Pretend to see dragons looping through the sky? Cheer at the nothingness spiraling above them? Lie to Yao that he believed every single detail of his far-fetched story?

If he did that, he would be going crazy, as well.

"You don't?"

"No. I'm sorry." The lack of Yao's verbal tic in the question was more unnerving than his unrevealing stare. Had he really taken this all seriously?

Yao's expression turned from completely blank to unbearably disappointed, and Kiku was forced to look away. This was all real to him, apparently, this tall tale of his. The urgent need to bring him home after all struck Kiku for a split second. If he was going mad, he would need to return to civilization as quickly as possible. Then, again, there was no one else on this island, and aside from his cuts, he seemed perfectly fine all by himself, so perhaps…

"Okay…Okay, it's okay. It's almost over anyway. I don't _need_ to see it…Come on, Di-di. I'll bring you home." Yao got up from his seat, turning away from the cliff side, although his eyes still wandered to the sky above them, an upset look on his face. Before his eyes, dragons still danced. Kiku almost felt guilty, but one with hallucinations as complex as Yao's was bound to be disappointed in one circumstance or another.

The elder's pace on the way back was deliberately slower, and he often stopped to kick a rock or simply to stare up into the sky for minutes more before finally shaking his head and continuing his excruciatingly slow saunter. He had really wanted to see that ceremony, it appeared. Kiku would not allow himself to be blamed for it, however. Yao's behavior had been much too strange for the past night, and if he refused to tell the whole truth, this would be the consequence.

Yao stood in front of the house now, eyes forlornly fixed to the sky, but, finding it now empty, sighed and entered the mansion without a single hint of acknowledgement to his little brother, who watched him trod away as the lanterns down the path to the front door lit one by one as Yao passed each. Soon Kiku was alone under the bleached moonlight, the unblinking stars, and perhaps even the dragons of Yao's fervent imagination. If it _was _imagination.

Truth. What was it? The most obvious "truth" would be that Yao was going mad, that everything he spoke of was illusion-based and could not be trusted. But then, how would one explain his vanishing act and reappearance on a deserted island, or the way the lanterns lighted themselves as he passed; his sudden speed and the way his eyes were eerily backlit?

Kiku watched the lanterns black out, and deep inside of him he realized that signing Yao's tales off as delusionary was his own wishful thinking.

Something sinister was in the making, and Kiku had walked straight into it.


	5. Chapter 5: Girl

**A/N: Late as usual, but I figure there isn't much to lose anyway...Besides, some of that time was spent waiting for Dontmezwitme to beta...But still she hasn't replied, so I assumed she went awol and decided to post it anyway...:l So here it is...**

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><p>Bloodstained Chrysanthemums沾染着血的菊花

Chapter 5: Girl/第五章: 姑娘

_Kiku stood in a vast field of chrysanthemums. The beautiful flowers of different colors stretched out as far as he could see, and above him the moon hung and cast an ambient glow unto the scene. He stood there, delightfully watching his namesakes dance with the wind, petals floating ethereally through the air around him._

_It was amazing._

_He wandered for a moment, until he found that several feet in front of him stood a figure whose dark, unbound hair flowed with the breeze. In his hands he held one of the chrysanthemums, immaculate white. Kiku could not see the man's face._

_The stranger stood there, gazing at the chrysanthemum for a moment, before uncurling his delicate fingers and allowing the flower to fly away on the breeze. He turned to watch it go, and as he did, Kiku saw his face._

_It was Yao._

_Yao had not noticed him, so Kiku turned to leave. He felt like he was intruding, and had no desire to stay any longer.__  
><em>

_But as he spun around, he heard his brother's voice calling scornfully after him, "Traitor."_

_All in one fluid motion, the moon fell from the sky, shrouding the land in darkness, and the chrysanthemums painted themselves with blood. Kiku's eyes widened, and immediately he twisted back towards Yao. "What…"_

_Yao was no longer there. In his place was a cliff that cut dangerously close to where Kiku was standing. A scream sliced painfully through the air from the unseen bottom of the canyon. It could only have been Yao. _

_Kiku turned and ran, crushing the bloodstained chrysanthemums underneath his feet._

"Ah-!"

There was no field. There was no cliff. There was only a large Oriental-themed room and Kiku, sitting up on his borrowed bed, eyes wide.

A dream.

The Japanese sighed, pushing his hair out of his eyes. He hated those nightmares he had been having since the incident with Yao. Sometimes, when he turned, Yao would still be on the edge of the cliff, begging for help. The first few times, Kiku would not help, and Yao would fall and that inhuman scream would wake him up. But then the nightmare kept coming, and eventually he tried taking his brother's outstretched hand. But still he would slip away. The dream left him feeling guilty every time.

He decided not to think about it. There was nothing new about it, and there were definitely more important matters at the moment. He was lucky Yao still let him sleep at his place at all; the episode they had the previous night had made the Chinese rather irritable. They had gone to bed without speaking a word to each other.

After fixing himself up and putting on one of the rather comfortable yukatas Yao had found lying around for him, Kiku padded to the dining room, where he figured his brother would be waiting, along with breakfast. He was starving, after all. Yao had been too annoyed the previous night to bother preparing dinner.

The room was totally empty.

"Strange…" muttered Kiku to himself when he found the kitchen empty as well. His surroundings were quiet except for a few chirping birds outside. The rest of the house was likewise. There was not a single hint of Yao.

Once again, he had disappeared without a trace.

Shaking his head, Kiku decided to prepare his own breakfast. Yao could not have possibly gone very far, and he was famished. However, it eventually occurred to Kiku that Yao did not seem to possess a refrigerator of any sort. The kitchen shelves were empty of food, as well. How it was possible for Yao to survive like this escaped Kiku, but now that he was devoid of any hope of eating a decent breakfast at Yao's place, he decided he might as well set off for the rest of the island. He might be able to find Yao—or even better, the captain.

Devil's Island, in broad daylight, resembled heaven rather than hell. The trees blew pleasantly with the wind, and the waves lapped against the shore with a rhythmic tone. It looked like one of those tropical white-sand beaches on postcards, except few eyes had ever looked over its virgin sands, which made it all the better.

The wreckage from last night had totally vanished. No sign of Kiku's escort remained on the pristine white sand. It was if nothing had ever happened, like Kiku had been living on the island all his life. That would be sort of nice, if it weren't for the fact that he was completely isolated from the rest of mankind and stuck with his annoying older brother, who happened to be the only other known inhabitant of the island aside from him.

Finding nothing of interest on the beach, Kiku proceeded to scour the forest. He had no need to fear getting lost, for Yao's mansion perched on its high cliff could be easily seen from any point in the foliage.

Kiku had wandered around the forest fruitlessly for quite a while when he finally stumbled into a quiet grove composed of tall, thin-branched trees with bizarre fruits dangling off of them. Curiously, Kiku approached one. The fruits were wine red, slightly oval in shape, rough like an oversized lychee, and were speckled ever so slightly with a dusty yellow-green. Kiku was horribly hungry, and he would have loved to take a bite, but he didn't know whether the fruits were safe or not. Gingerly, he reached for the fruit closest to him. Perhaps if he took it back to Yao (if he could even find him), his brother would be able to tell him—

_Whoosh._

Kiku stiffened. Slowly, nervously, his eyes wandered to the bark right next to his hand.

An arrow protruded out of the trunk.

"I dunno; I wouldn't pick that fruit if I were you, mister." The voice that greeted his ears was female, sweet and high-pitched though in a sardonic, teasing manner. "You know it's not allowed."

Kiku turned to face his assaulter.

The girl whose delicately carved wooden bow was aimed at his face grinned at him impishly. High above her head, two messily tied buns of her chocolate brown hair sat. She wore a short-skirted cheongsam with shorts underneath, and simple slippers that looked rather inconvenient for the forest. So there were other inhabitants, after all...increasingly curious. "Who are you?" asked Kiku.

"Me?" She frowned. "Mister, are you dense? Where do you live, under a rock? Geez."

He flinched at her wording. What an audacious girl. "I'm very sincerely sorry, but I really don't. I…I'm not from here…" For once, Kiku considered to possibility of the island being populated after all. But if that were the case, why did no one know of the island?

"Not from here?" She laughed. "Nice excuse, sir, but say that again and you'll get another arrow, except this time in your head."

What could he say, though? It wasn't a made-up excuse, and Kiku couldn't exactly pretend he knew what the girl was talking about. Perhaps she was crazy as well, although it seemed incredibly unlikely. "I…I really am sorry."

The girl sneered, clearly unconvinced, though she didn't loose any more arrows. She stomped towards him imposingly, unnerving Kiku even if she was considerably shorter than him. For one uncomfortable moment, the stranger stared right into his eyes. Kiku willed himself not to look away, or she would think he was lying.

"Really?" Her gaze intensified. Kiku only nodded.

At last, the intense scrutiny of her gaze dropped, and turned into guarded confusion. "You're telling the truth…" It was an unusually certain tone for a fact that could not be proven.

Kiku sighed heavily, allowing himself to lean against the tree behind him. She had finally believed him.

The girl spun around and put a hand to her chin, pacing around contemplatively. "Well. First of all," she began, "my name is Zhang Chun-Yan. And since I can sense that you're telling the truth, there's going to be a whole lot of explaining on both of our parts."

The surprise must have been evident on Kiku's face, because the alleged Chun-Yan raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Yes?"

"Zh…Zhang Chun-Yan…?" That was the name Yao had mentioned in his little fantasy tale! Could it have been true…?

"Yeah, Chun-Yan, as in spring swallow. Do you have a problem with my name, mister? By the way, what's yours?"

"Kiku. Honda Kiku…" His eyes were wide as he ventured, "Do you happen…happen to know any Wang Yao?"

At the mention of Kiku's brother, Chun-Yan stiffened visibly. Her eyes narrowed. "Where did you get that name?"

Deciding it was pointless—and possibly risky-to lie, and that there was nothing to lose anyway, Kiku muttered, "He's…He's my brother."

For a very short, almost nonexistent moment, Chun-Yan looked irrevocably shocked. But this emotion was immediately covered up by a mask of steel as the Chinese girl seized Kiku's arm and stared at him straight in the eye. "Mister Kiku," she said in a mockingly polite manner, "You are hereby coming with me."


	6. Chapter 6: City

**A/N: **HEEELLLOOO I HAVE NECRO'D MYSELF GUYS. I'M A NECROMANCER. FOR MYSELF.

Ummmm yeah well it's been a while. I haven't stopped writing this; it's just that I've been doing other stuff too (especially this summer; it's been real busy) and Chrys is actually quite difficult to write because I have no plot past about 15 chapters, since well...Actually this entire fanfiction was based off 10-word writing prompts created through page-cutting a Chinese-English dictionary! So yeah, I have the originals running until quite deep in, but I'm not sure what goes after that yet.

Anyway a review reminded me that this existed, and I looked in my writing USB and found a chapter I hadn't posted yet /shot

SO YEAH THIS HAS BEEN ON BUFFER SINCE FOREVER HAHA SORRY /dies again

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><p>Bloodstained Chrysanthemums沾染着血的菊花

Chapter 6: City/第六章: 城市

The moment Kiku had seen what Chun-Yan was planning to force him onto, he immediately regretted ever venturing out of the Oriental mansion on the hill.

"What's wrong?" The Chinese girl looked over her shoulder at him, tugging on a red dragon-embellished helmet as she regarded his hesitance with a raised eyebrow, like it was completely unnatural. "Don't tell me you've never seen a motorbike before? Come on, there are going to be much stranger things out there!"

Stranger? Was there anything in this world, anything at all, that was stranger than the entire situation Kiku had stumbled into? This was an island he had originally proclaimed deserted, and then reconsidered due to the presence of Yao; changed his mind again when his brother saw nonexistent dragons twirling about the air. And now, here, in front of him, was a second inhabitant of the island, mounted on a shiny red motorcycle with a multitude of star stickers plastered all over its side.

Kiku had no idea what to think anymore.

"Well? Hurry and get on!" Chun-Yan patted the leather seat behind her, and Kiku sent off a silent prayer before obliging. He had never liked motorbikes. They were much too…precarious. Why in hell was he doing this, anyway? Was it for the answers? How could he even be guaranteed that tagging along this nonsensical journey would earn him any?

The sudden vroom of the engine sent Kiku's heart on an absurd high jump, and the realization hit him as hard as his panic: "Um…Excuse me for asking, but…Don't I have a helmet…?"

Chun-Yan laughed, which only made things worse. "Silly boy; I came here alone! What kind of rider brings an extra helmet? Takes up too much space, if ya ask me!"

"B-But-!"

Before he could complete his complaint, the Chinese girl ferociously turned the handles, and the vehicle zoomed straight through the trees. Shocked by the sudden jerk, Kiku shut his eyes tight just as the forest whirred past them, and he dug his knees into the steel, instinctively wrapping his arms around the waist of the girl in front of him. His dark hair whipped crazily in and out of his face, and his pressed his lips together tighter, the vertigo catching him off balance.

A few minutes went by like that, just Kiku and the inertia, until finally, Chun-Yan choked out over the whir of the engine and the whoosh of the wind, "Hey…Tight here…"

Abashed, Kiku loosened his grip, eyes snapping open at last. He caught a glimpse of Chun-Yan's irritated expression through the glass of her helmet when she glanced at him for a moment before turning back to her driving, revving up her ride even faster. "Sheesh, you're not going to die, mister…"

Too embarrassed to continue acting distressed, Kiku dared lift his head up ever-so-slightly to observe his new surroundings—and they were definitely not what he expected.

He had imagined them speeding through dark forest trails, branches parting at the motorcycle's head, birds of all kinds fleeing from their roaring path. Instead, he saw around them, a city. A city modeled after ancient Asia, complete with traveling merchants and people dressed in traditional clothing, although all in dark shades. A few turned to face them and wave to Chun-Yan; the driver tried her best to return all greetings. Kiku was appalled. This…this was a civilization! The island was populated! And it seemed that Chun-Yan was rather popular here, too. He would ask about it, but their speed and his surprise had driven him mute.

Besides, Chun-Yan abruptly cut off his thoughts with a rather sickly sweet piece of advice: "Alright, Mister Kiku, here is where you can hold on tight…_Should_ hold on tight, actually."

"What…" He trailed off, watching their route—Chun-Yan was driving them straight into an arch, crafted with brass, it looked like, and molded to appear as two dragons spiraling upwards to meet at a red stone. As they sped closer, Kiku could make out a few Chinese characters: _Speedline._

He didn't like the sound of that.

"Here we go!" Chun-Yan leaned forward eagerly into her motorized steed, revving it up the fastest it could go as she zoomed under the arch. Suddenly, it seemed as if their speed multiplied a hundredfold, their environment transforming into blurs of gray. Yelping, Kiku flailed his arms in the air for a moment of panic before holding on tighter than ever before, burying his face into Chun-Yan's back. This speed had to be impossible! This was…he couldn't…no…

"Oh crap, Mister Kiku, are you alright over there?! Hello! We're here! Are you going to pass out? Did I kill you? Actually, that would solve a lot of problems, but—"

Without bothering to reply, the Japanese man shambled towards the nearest bush in his spinning view and threw up.

"...Eh, that's a common initial reaction, actually." Chun-Yan shrugged casually as Kiku turned to face her with a nauseated expression. "Totally natural. Anyway, like I said, we're here now. Let's put that all in the past, shall we?"

_And where exactly is "here"?_Kiku thought miserably, leaning shakily into a tree, too dazed to speak. The thought must have reflected in his expression, because Chun-Yan stepped aside with a grin and raised her arms in the air. "Ta-da! Welcome to the Eastern Tower!"

Behind her was a tall tower styled like an Oriental palace, just like Yao's strange Cliffside mansion. This "Eastern Tower" looked like something out of a post card, with an enormous golden dragon carved all around it, its bejeweled head resting calmly on the top of the building, almost out of sight in the thick clouds above. He could hardly see it from their low altitude and the spinning in his head, but Kiku could tell it was amazing. People in all sorts of clothing from the modern to the archaic were crowded at its base, in what looked like a plaza with a dragon fountain in its center. Wherever Kiku was, the people in this place seemed to _love_ dragons.

"And…For what reason, precisely, have you brought me here?" Kiku hated to be rude or anything, but he clearly didn't want that entire ride to be in vain. Chun-Yan nodded in his direction.

"Eh, well, I can tell you think I'm crazy already. If I told you exactly what we're doing here, you'd call an asylum! Not that there are any around here, mind you. This way!" With that simple closing remark, the Chinese girl hopped away from the similar "Speedline" arch they had emerged from, towards the Tower and waving at anyone she met. Kiku almost didn't follow her, but it was not like there was anywhere else to go, and he'd gotten this far, right? Kiku clung to those little sentiments as he stumbled after her, still completely disoriented from the traumatic trip on Chun-Yan's motorbike.

The inside of the tower was packed with people, and the air inside was mostly serious. People went about carrying stacks of papers and lining up at windows that reminded Kiku of ordinary payment centers and such, although the interior was as garishly decorated as the outside. "What is this place, exactly?" Kiku asked nervously, hoping he would get a straight answer this time. Not that he expected one.

"East Tower. Mm, guess you could call it a government building." Chun-Yan laughed at that, like there was anything funny about government buildings at all. No further explanation came after that, and Kiku sighed exasperatedly, although he trailed after the Chinese girl anyway. Their route led them to the left side of the large room, the opposite of the row of elevators Kiku spotted. "We're headed up," stated Chun-Yan, like she could tell what he was thinking and _wanted_ to confuse him further.

"But…" he started, glancing at the elevators, and trailed off. He figured at last that arguing with this eccentric lady was completely useless.

"This is a shortcut," explained Chun-Yan, vaguely motioning to an enormous round jade set into the wall in front of them. It was crowned in Chinese-embellished gold at the sides, and if the entire thing was a genuine precious stone, Kiku could hardly imagine how much it cost. He was also totally lost on how it was supposed to help them reach the top of the gigantic tower, but he no longer bothered asking, instead watching his escort silently.

Chun-Yan reached into her tight Chinese collar and fished out a jade pendant carved into the character for "teacher" and "master." She grabbed tightly onto Kiku's wrist, held up the pendant and shut her eyes, muttering something under her breath. Kiku stared at her nervously, and his eyes widened as the pendant began to glow a pale green; a similar luminescence began to stir in the huge jade, and soon, they were glowing together, pulsing to a steady, inaudible rhythm. Kiku glanced at the other people in the room; a few looked their way for no longer than a few seconds and turned back again, like they didn't care. What _was_ this place?

Before he could even ponder on the question in mind, his vision suddenly flashed, and the room disappeared out of sight.


End file.
